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Greitens Uses Dark Money to Smear Republican Colleague

Missouri Governor Eric Greitens campaigned on the promise of transparency in government. He then secretly collected millions of dollars in dark money from contributors he refused to identify. Dark money is the term used for untraceable campaign contributions through a 501(c)4 Political Action Committee, or PAC.* His Republican party colleague in the Missouri Legislature, Senator Rob Schaff of St. Joseph, criticized Greitens for his hypocrisy. Greitens struck back by running ads against Schaff. He publicized Schaff’s personal cell phone number in the ads. He encouraged his supporters to call Schaff and tell him to stop ‘working with liberals’ against the Governor. Greitens used a second dark money PAC to pay for the ads.

Suppose you were smeared at your job.

Let’s imagine you raise a legitimate point about a position your company takes — a position that is contrary to your company’s mission — and you get punished for it. And then you get trolled on social media for doing the right thing. How would you feel? Would that be fair?

Democrats don’t share Greitens’ values.

We believe in open government. We believe citizens should know who contributes to candidates — to understand who’s influencing whom — so our elected officials can be held accountable. If you agree, join us in electing a new Governor for Missouri and new legislators in the Missouri House and Senate.

*Not all PACs are 501(c)4 dark money organizations. Most PACs raise money for candidates and causes in an open, transparent way, identifying their donors and filing reports with elections officials.